


At Least He Has Their Friendship

by AlleyMoslof



Category: Bleach
Genre: Happy Ending, I dont know what to tag, M/M, Sad at First, beginning ichihime, toshiro just wants whats best for ichigo, toshiro tries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:28:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28885398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlleyMoslof/pseuds/AlleyMoslof
Summary: If he had thought watching his first soulmate die was painful, Hitsugaya had apparently never known what pain was. Watching his second soulmate marry another, now that's excruciating.Soulmate AU! Marks only exist in Soul Form so only those in Soul Society know about them. They can also be covered using Kido.One-sided Ichihitsu with Ichihime in the beginning, Then Ichihitsu at the end. Background RanGin. Sort of cannon compliant? After TYBW arc.
Relationships: Hitsugaya Toushirou/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 17
Kudos: 37
Collections: IchiHitsu Ship Week and Archive





	1. At Least He Has Their Friendship

Chapter 1: At Least He Has Their Friendship

If he had thought watching his first soulmate die was painful, Hitsugaya had apparently never known what pain was. Considering he was almost sliced in half three times during the Winter War and was tortured in the Quincy Blood War, you’d think that he would be no stranger to pain. Yet, standing there in a formal kamino, with a slight smile on his face, the experience was excruciating. The realization that he had two chances, two soulmates, two happy endings, and somehow messed up both of them, the fact that his own soulmates didn’t want him, was painful. 

At least he has their friendship.

The thought was hollow, as was the truth behind the statement. Kusaka had known that they were soulmates. They were best friends. They were almost lovers. They were an unhappy ever after. Hitsugaya has trusted him fully and faithfully, and he was stabbed in the back for his efforts. By his own soulmate. For power. With Kusaka’s betrayal and subsequent death, Hitsugaya gave up on soulmates. Gave up on love and a happy ever after. He dedicated himself fully to his work, to his men. Protecting them, building them up, and remembering them when they were gone. 

His lieutenant, Matsumoto, confused him. She was one of the believers. She had a soulmate. She knew who he was and she loved him, believed in him. Ichimaru was not who Hitsugaya would have put with his lieutenant but “Fate has its reasons.” Even after he betrayed her and left the Seireitei, she still loved him and believed in him. It confused Hitsugaya, but “people do stupid things for love and I believe in soulmates, so I believe in him.”

When a new soulmark, a blue ring made up of a crescent moon and an ice dragon, appeared on the opposite arm of the one that once held an ice blue and purple snowflake, Hitsugaya ignored it. When Matsumoto saw it, she was cheerful for hours until the captain said that he wasn’t going to do anything about it. He never gave a reason and she didn’t expect him to. That’s how they worked. Complete trust in each other and in each other’s secrets. If she needed to know, he would tell her and he knew the reverse was true of her as well.

When Hitsugaya met his new soulmate, he knew there was a mistake. There was no way that this boisterous, uncultured, idiotic human was his soulmate. This absolute moron who had stormed a militaristic government filled with beings of supernatural powers with no plan, no backup, and not even a base of operations. Just two humans, a quincy and a cat.

But time would change his views. 

Don’t get Hitsugaya wrong, he still knew that the human was an idiot, but he was so… so much more. He was brave, he was loyal, he was intelligent. He had read almost as many books as the ice captain, which is a feat in itself, preferring authors like Shakespeare and Tolkien to Hitsugaya’s Sun Tsu and Mary Shelly. He could keep up with the ice captain in a game of whits, whether it be a game of chess or a battle of words. He understood Hitsugaya’s dark, dry humor and sarcastic undertones. He could keep up with the captain in terms of power and strength. Not once did Hitsugaya feel the need to protect the idiot like he did his sister or his Lieutenant, instead it was his choice. His soulmate would visit Hitsugaya whenever he was in Soul Society and they could debate endlessly on literature, music, movies, war... 

It’s because of this idiotic human that Toushiro really began to live again. He spent less time working and more time trying to catch the latest Marvel film. He went clubbing and to music festivals and concerts. He even went to a rave once. It was too loud and too crowded, but it was exhilarating. He went snowboarding, hiking, surfing (that was a disaster) and mountain climbing. He spent more time in the Living World in one year than he had the entire time he had been a shinigami.

But Toushiro was a coward. He never told his soulmate the truth. Never told him about the matching marks on their wrists. He didn’t want to lose again, didn’t want this amazing moronic human to die because of him. And, if he was completely honest, he didn’t really believe he deserved him, didn’t deserve that wonderful, selfless idiot.

So, he watched over and protected his soulmate when he could. Slowly, protecting his soulmate turned into protecting his friends, his family, and her. He was one of the first to realize her crush on his soulmate. He was one of the first to see how much his soulmate cared for her and how far he was willing to go for her. Toushiro could never despise her. She was too good, too kind, too selfless. She deserved his soulmate, so much more than he did. Toushiro was the one who beat the crap out of his soulmate when he was being too idiotic to notice their shared feelings. He was one of the ones who helped him when the first date jitters got too much of the moron. He helped him find a ring, helped him set up the proposal, and now he's standing in formal robes, watching as his soulmate, his last chance, marries the girl who deserved him. 

Not the broken mess of a captain, who wasn’t even wanted by his first soulmate, let alone by his second.

At least he has their friendship.


	2. Maybe He Deserves A Happy Ending Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As events unfold, Toshiro starts to believe that maybe he deserves a happy ending too.

Eventually, protecting his soulmate’s family and friends included his soulmate’s son. Just like her, Toushiro could never hate the boy. Instead, he found himself protecting him, teaching him, and helping him. Toushiro would have never guessed that something good would come out of losing his soulmate, but then this brown eyed, joyful little child came hurling into his office and his life like his dad did so long ago. 

Toushiro couldn’t help but love him. This little boy had slipped through his walls like they were water instead of harsh ice, and soon the captain was threatening his soulmate with castration if he ever came to Soul Society without the wonderful youth. The child who was so kind, so bright, so brilliant. The boy became just as much his son as his parents’, earning the nickname “hatchling” from both the ice captain and his dragon zanpakuto. Toushiro was determined to watch him flourish even further than anyone could imagine. He was going to watch this child, his hatchling, soar or die trying.

Toushiro acquired a ticket for his hatchling, the same one Head Captain Kyoraku had given to his soulmate’s living friends, so that the child could come and go as he pleased. When his hatchling started spending the night, Toushiro was more than happy to house him, giving the child his own room and decorating it anyway the little one wanted. Matsumoto was all too willing to go shopping and spoil the boy, her captain’s pseudo child, even using some of her own money rather than just her captain’s or the division funding. Toushiro’s division members joined in after seeing their captain’s adoration for his hatchling. They adopted the boy as an honorary member and it was not strange to see them guiding him, playing games with him, and answering his seemingly endless questions.

Toushiro’s protectiveness of his hatchling gained him a new nickname in his division, one spoken in soft whispers and fond joking, one that shocks other squads if ever spoken outside the division’s walls due to his icy and cold reputation. In a way, the child had made the Division Ten members closer. Almost to the point where the squad was more like a family than a bunch of co-workers. Each member began to be a playful or worrying aunt or uncle to the hatchling. Each began to help one another regardless of rank and experience. Each began to feel safe in their division, safe to live, to laugh, to learn and to grow. Each began to reach heights they never would have achieved on their own. All the while, the overprotective dragon wielder watched over them, squad members and hatchling alike; leading them, protecting them, and guiding them all with his sharp critical mind, icy turquoise gaze and not-so-frozen heart. 

Toushiro was surprised to be woken up one night by the child in absolute devastation. When he found out his hatching’s parents were fighting, loud and angry, in the range of the youth, he didn’t even think to be despicably hopeful. He was an unforgiving blizzard arriving at their doorstep, furious and unrelenting, having left the now sleeping eight year old with his surprisingly sober Lieutenant. No child should have to be witness to fighting that reduces his normally happy hatchling to the point of sobbing. He especially should not be witnessing it from family, from those who were supposed to support him, guide him and be a strong pillar for him to lean on. He and his soulmate were testaments of what happens when a child sees too much too young and his dragon zanpakuto is just as unforgiving as he of making their hatchling grow up too fast.

After tearing into the two of them, Toushiro left the residence with promises and assurances of peace around his hatchling as well as the child’s presence for the next couple days while his soulmate and his wife talk things out. His soulmate’s protectiveness of his family had been working against him. Terrified at the thought of losing them to even a simple mugger was driving a wedge between the couple. His wife was too passive, too kind to cause harm to others. She had been attacked while his soulmate was at work. Robbers. They only stole items from the house, but the knife had drawn blood from her neck and his soulmate couldn’t let it happen again. 

The overprotective idiot started to keep tabs on his wife and was determined to never let her be alone, to never be undefended. Constant phone calls and text messages were putting her in a box, one she felt she couldn’t escape. Add on their child’s growing Shinigami powers and constant adventures to Soul Society, and his soulmate’s wife felt more than trapped. She felt she had to choose between wanting to have a normal life without interference from the world of the dead and being dragged back into the chaos of the other worlds, of fighting, of terror and of death. Back to the time of being targets of kidnappings and threats, of being forced to become weapons in a war they did not start, of being made to watch as her family tears itself apart to become stronger, to become better... 

To be broken again. 

She remembers her husband’s haunting cries when he lost his powers to the other substitute soul reaper, she remembers her husband’s death at the hands of the Espada. She remembers every injury and every scream, every bruise and every tear. She remembers… 

And she doesn’t want to live that life again.

When it was discovered that her husband and son were too powerful to stay in the living realm, it seemed like the decision had been made for her.

Toushiro was surprised to be woken up one night by his soulmate in absolute devastation. His sleeping child in his arms, asking for refuge, asking to be away from prying eyes and from his friends’ trigger-happy, well-meaning helpfulness. To escape from the realities of life, even if for one night. Toushiro opened his door to the two and welcomed them into his home, and unconsciously deeper into his heart. For the next few months, he helped them, guided them, and protected them, just as he always had. Ever since he first laid eyes on the brown eyed, joyful little child. Ever since his moronic soulmate came storming into Soul Society with two humans, a quincy and a cat. Ever since his new soulmark appeared opposite the arm that held his old one, his failed happy ever after. 

Because these two people meant the world to him: his soulmate, the amazing, selfless idiot; and his hatchling, the wonderful and joyful child. 

Maybe he starts to believe in soulmates, in love and in happy ever afters. 

Maybe he starts to understand why his Lieutenant waited for so long, loved for so long, and believed for so long. 

And maybe, just maybe, he starts to believe he deserves a happy ending too.

At least he had their friendship.


	3. But Then He Saw Those Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo's POV around the beginning part of CH 1. He's in love with those eyes ;)

If he thought any concept was stupid, Kurosaki Ichigo thought it would be the idea of soulmates. The belief that someone, god or fate, had decided before he was even born that he was meant to be with one person for the rest of eternity, regardless of time or experiences, was a romantic’s fantasy. Ichigo was not a romantic. Life had ruined that for him from a young age. He’s seen too many deaths, helped too many souls, and watched his own mother, one of the kindest people in existence, die in front of him. To him, life was too cruel for something good like soulmates to exist.

But then he saw those eyes.

Ichigo has always been pulled to certain people, has always felt their souls calling out to him, in friendship, in hope, in faith. He had been pulled towards Rukia before he got his shinigami powers. The pull to Chad led him to the fight that started their friendship. He had experienced many pulls towards others and they have all become important people in his life. From Tatzki to Byakuya, Orihime to Ukitake, and even Old Man Yamamoto.

Those eyes were no different. He could feel them reaching out, pulling at him, from the moment he entered Soul Society. It caused him to pause at the gates of the Sereitei as the draw got stronger, almost yanking him towards some unknown destination, some unknown person. However, it was a different kind of call; one unlike any he had ever gotten before; one of growth, companionship, and fulfilment; one that promised to make him whole when he had never even noticed he was broken. As if his soul was missing a piece, missing its other half.

If anyone could make Ichigo believe in soulmates, it was those icy, turquoise eyes. The first time Ichigo saw them, he couldn’t help but stare. People say the eyes are the windows to the soul and if so, he knew these eyes held a soul that was strong, determined, powerful, and so very alone. It was a frozen, lonely, beauty that Ichigo couldn’t help but get lost in.

And it wasn’t just the eyes that drew him in, but the intelligence, the loyalty, the power, and the carefully hidden kindness. He’s seen that intelligence used to infuriate his men into proving the taicho wrong or manipulate enemies into making mistakes. He’s seen the loyalty towards his sister, his lieutenant, his men. He’s felt the power ripple through the air, turning a warm fall day into the very essence of winter. He’s seen the seemingly heartless soul following others in battle, has felt the reishi secretly checking for injuries or pain. It was the call that drew Ichigo in and the heart and mind behind those eyes that kept Ichigo hooked.

Due to their meeting, Ichigo started to get more into his studies, even reading outside of school just to be able to hold his own in debates with the incredibly knowledgeable soul. He wanted to know how much those eyes knew, wanted to see them shine when Ichigo gained a concept that the intelligence had been hinting at, to see the slight hint of a smile when, after debating for hours on whether the monster in Frankenstein was born or shaped to be evil, they finally reached an agreement. 

As much as Ichigo wanted others to see what he could, he couldn’t bring himself to force those eyes. So instead, he spent as much time as he could with the tenso taicho. Ichigo started going to Soul Society more, started coming up with excuses to bring the ice prince with him to the living world. To go camping, snowboarding, and hiking. To go to festivals, concerts, and shows. All so he could watch those eyes take in the new experiences in wonder. It was when the soul was curious or experiencing something new, that the snow showed, that he saw the lonely beauty hidden underneath those icy walls, where the snow was gentle, patient and wise beyond its years, but had the strength to bring even the strongest warrior to their knees. The look in those eyes, when the impenetrable ice wall was down, was slowly becoming Ichigo’s favorite view.

Ichigo never understood romantic ideas like soulmates or love at first sight.

But then he saw those eyes

And he believed.


	4. Ichigo is confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toshiro's favorite past time is to accidentally, unintentionally confuse Ichigo. Ichigo's POV from the rest of CH 1

Ichigo was confused.

Unlike what most people think, Ichigo wasn’t an idiot. He was pretty smart, kind of have to be in order to keep up with the child Tenso of Soul Society. The subject of his confusion was actually the aforementioned Taicho. Ichigo knew he was drawn to him, knew that there was a reason for it, knew he was called to be something, become something, for the ice prince or alongside the dragon wielder. 

However, no matter the experiences that they went on; the concerts, the trips, the general training adventures; no matter the discussions and debates, Ichigo felt like there was something he didn’t know, didn’t catch, or didn’t understand. It was something important that he felt was purposely being kept from him.

It was behind a wall in those eyes that he couldn’t melt, couldn’t go around, and couldn’t see though despite it’s icy configuration. He saw it when the Tenso paused and got lost in his own thoughts, saw it when the captain’s scowl deepened as his Lieutenant winked at the taicho, and saw it when the turquoise eyes turned away from him to return to Soul Society.

Ichigo was confused.

It seemed like whatever pull Ichigo felt, it was not reciprocated. Every time Ichigo got close to figuring out what the pull was, the wall would block him again. It didn’t make any sense. It was as if the turquoise eyes didn’t want him to follow the pull. Instead they were leading him somewhere else, somewhere different, somewhere with a similar but contrasting pull...

Don’t get Ichigo wrong, he loved his wife. He loved her smile, her kindness, her optimism. He would gladly die to protect her, to protect her radiance, to protect her goodness. The life that they built together was everything he dreamed of: he was a doctor, they had a house, they had a son. He could be happy, content with this life, but then he saw those eyes again and 

Ichigo was confused.

Despite feeling the wrongness with the wall, Ichigo remained really good friends with the tenso taicho. He would still visit Soul Society, and they still went to concerts and movies. When his son was born, he was nervous when those eyes landed on the little two year old; so young, so bright. There was no need to worry as Ichigo could tell that the ice prince loved his son. When they saw his little boy, the wall disappeared and the turquoise was the gentle, wise snowfall that Ichigo loved so much. 

...That he loved…  
... so much…  
...?

Ichigo was confused

So completely and utterly confused


	5. What Love Has Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finale. :D its about 40 years after the events of CH 2, they have been friends and jumping around each other the whole time. Ichigo and Rukia had been talking about soul marks and Ichigo asked Toshiro about his and... well... XD 
> 
> OH! and Ichigo is now the Captain of Division Five
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

“You know... That sounded awfully like revealing kido.” 

“Like you’re an expert in Kido.” Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, “This could be a binding kido for all you know.”

“Actually,” Ichigo stepped forward, gaining the ice captain’s attention, “I am a captain. I think I would know a revealing spell if I heard one.” Hitsugaya only hummed noncommentually before returning to the paperwork on his desk. Ichigo, recognizing Toushiro’s attempts to avoid a topic, stepped even closer, now at the edge of the desk, “You’re my soulmate.”

A slight pause in writing was the only sign that the captain had heard the substitute’s statement. The hesitation in movement was so slight that Ichigo thought he had imagined it, and who would blame him? He was feeling a bit bewildered and out of his depth. This was not the conversation he thought he would be having with the shinigami in front of him when he had entered the office. Who knew that one question about a off-handed comment of Rukia’s would lead to this.

“You’re my soulmate.” Ichigo repeated, halfway asking for confirmation and halfway bewildered. The captain had known Toushiro for a good part of fifty years. The fact that this is the first time that he had known this was… overwhelming. “You’re my soulmate.”

The person being spoken towards sighed as he finally put down the pen he had been writing reports with. “Are you going to repeat that until I reply or are you just stuck in a never ending loop of disbelief?”

“So, you are my soulmate?” 

After sighing again, he leaned back in his chair and replied, “If I answered yes, would you drop it?”

“Drop it?” Ichigo blinked several times, “Why would I drop it? This is kind of a big deal! You’re my soulmate!”

“Yes, I think we have established that.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why would I?”

“Because I’m your soulmate!”

“And?”

Ichigo opened his mouth, but no words came out. His mind ran in circles still not registering the information that he had been given.

Toushiro sighed once more, “Look, I didn’t want you to know. People make such a big fuss over soulmates and, to be honest, I never put much stake into the concept that before we were even born, our souls have decided who we were meant to be with. Regardless of life experiences and time, we are destined to be together? It makes no sense to me and is an old concept that can be used to ruin lives and prevent people from achieving their highest capabilities due to believing in such foolish things.”

“How... “ Ichigo blinked bewildered, “You don’t believe..? Why?”

“Why not?” the ice captain replied harshly, eyes flashing, “I fail to see what joy or sense of happiness I could gain from a weakness that could cripple me, especially with a reckless soulmate such as yourself, who has no sense of self-preservation nor sense of when to mind his own business.” He stood from his chair, slamming his hands on the desk and glaring at the orange haired captain, who had opened his mouth in protest, “I fail to see what I could gain from the destruction of a strong relationship between two of my, I dare say it, friends. I fail to see how I would suddenly gain happiness from something that almost so easily destroyed not only my own life, but my sister’s and my lieutenant’s as well. Having a soulmate isn’t a good thing! It takes the things that matter to you, takes the things that are important to you. Dreams, hopes, freedom all gone. It takes and takes and takes until you’re left a broken shell of a child who just wanted to be accepted, who just wanted to be himself, who just wanted to belong. All on the folly of selfish, bumptious pricks, who decided to make decisions they had no right to make, to decide who lives, who dies and who gets left behind. If you want an ending like that, be my guest but kindly leave me out of it!” His eyes were venom green glaring into shocked brown.

Silence filled the office.

“...Marry me.” 

Teal eyes widened in shock, “...what?”

Silence surrounded them once more. Ichigo hadn’t thought before speaking but the more he thought about it the more it made sense.

“Marry me.” He said as he walked around the desk.

“... You’re joking, right?”

“I would get on one knee but I don’t exactly have a ring.”

“Don’t you dare.” Silence “...Why?”

“Why? Why not?”

“I believe we just had this conversation.” He crossed his arms again, looking weary. “I don’t believe in soulmates.” 

Ichigo laughed, causing Toshiro to scowl, “I’m not doing this because we’re soulmates.” He smiled gently, only inches away from the frozen ice captain, “I’m doing this because I’ve had a crush on you since I was fifteen when I saw you fight for the first time. I’m doing this because I’ve been in love with you since I was seventeen when you smiled while we were snowboarding. I fell in love with you again and again every time I see you with Kazui, every time I see you laugh, every time you show off your unending intelligence, every time you make a dry, sarcastic comment, every time you scowl at Rangiku, and every time you blow up at someone calling you short.” Toshiro gave him a dirty look, “I never did anything about it because I thought it wasn’t reciprocated, but I no longer think that’s true. If being soulmates is what is preventing us from being together, forget it. I don’t care about soulmates, but I care about you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Toshiro. Soulmate or not. So, will you marry me?”

Despite what most people go through, Ichigo wasn’t anxious about the elongated silence (okay, maybe a little). He was more or less confident in Toshiro’s answer, he just had to wait until the other’s brain overanalyzed everything until it got to the same conclusion that Ichigo’s instincts were now screaming at him.

“... what about Kazui?”

“What about him? He absolutely adores you and already looks up to you. Every time he comes home after spending time with you, he won’t stop talking about it. He spends half his time sleeping at your house or hanging out in your office. Becoming his stepfather won’t be much of a jump.” The fact that Kazui was Toshiro’s first worry made Ichigo even more sure that he was making the right choice. Kazui was his world. If he was to share him with anyone, he was glad it was someone who also put him first.

“...We haven’t even been on a date yet.”

Ichigo couldn’t help the laughter spilling from his mouth. Toshiro slapped a hand over his mouth, face turning red as he watched the Fifth Division Captain collapse in laughter, leaning on his desk. 

When he finally calmed down, still occasionally chuckling, he put his hands on the extremely embarrassed captain’s waist and pressed their foreheads together, “I will take you on as many dates as you want, anywhere you want, as long as you’re with me.” 

The shaky hands being placed on his chest gave Ichigo his answer before the icy prince gave his hushed reply, “...okay.”

“Okay?” Ichigo felt his smile grow.

“...I’ll marry you.” 

Ichigo couldn’t help himself. He picked up the ice captain and spun him around in excitement. Feeling his feet suddenly leave the ground, Hitsugaya panicked and wrapped his arms around the ecstatic shinigami. Ichigo started laughing at the other captains protests before putting him down and pressing his lips to the other’s.


End file.
